valentine’s day at kittery

We were not planning on going out on the actual day of Valentine’s Day. Most places only offer prix fixe menus or find some other way to make it more expensive for that one particular evening. However in the end, we opted to do our Valentine’s plans on the actual day. We started the evening with some paint your own pottery at The Painted Pot before making our way down the street to Kittery.

The restaurant, which has been open since around Christmastime, isn’t crazy crowded. As should be expected for Valentine’s, it was totally different. We got there around 9:30 (my squirrel here was super detailed so I wasn’t exactly the quickest of painters) and found the place completely full, with the hostess telling us it would be another hour before they could seat us. T did not look amused. However, it was only another 10 minutes before they seated us. Perhaps some growing pains of a new-ish restaurant learning how to deal with peak crowds.

We chose to skip their popular “Stuffies” (baked clams with sausage stuffing and lemon) and instead started with their warm spicy crab dip, which was served with bagel chips. We were warned that the portion size was on the larger side and that many people had commented on the dip being pretty spicy. Both made us smile. The appetizer was much needed with the late dinner time and confirmed what I suspected, which is that on a cold night if I needed a bit to eat, this might be something perfect to get and sit at the bar and be content with just that. Quite good.

We also had to start with the clam chowder. Hard to beat a good clam chowder on a cold night. With the seafood focus at Kittery, it was a no-brainer. The balance of flavors was good. Creamy but not overwhelmingly so. It was heavy on the pepper, which I loved but BF found a bit excessive. Portion size was nice for us to share, seeing as we’d ordered an assortment of items.

For our main course, we split the surf & turf, preceded by the simple greens salad. The mustard vinaigrette on the salad was excellent and made the salad for me. The surf and turf was a great combo. The steak was perfectly done and seasoned, and I liked that it was all very reasonable portion sizes, even with us splitting the dish. The hollandaise-esque sauce wasn’t too heavy too. My issue was with the lobster. It was way overdone, making it too chewy and a bit disappointing. I’d like to go back when it’s warmer and feels more seasonally appropriate to instead try their lobster roll. Overall, a nice spot and curious to try their outdoor dining once spring fully kicks in. But overall, a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Kittery – 305 Smith St (btwn Union/President St – Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn – 718.643.3293
Reservations Suggested